Riveting mechanism



Oct. 9, 1962 G. s. IKELHEIMER RIVETING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 8. 1959 INVENTOR. l'dld J. fl el/ze me A wiwkv vk ll 0 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,057,231 RIVETING MECHANISM Gerald S. Ikelheimer, 95 Lexington Ave., Apt. 1 H, New York, N.Y. Filed Sept. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 838,638 7 Claims. (CI. 78-46) This invention relates to riveting machines and the like, and more particularly to such machines wherein the rivets are utilized in the manner of punches, to pierce the work and make their own openings, prior to securing together the workpieces.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved combination of a piercing-type rivet and multipart die structure, wherein the die elements provide a firm support for the workpieces.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved combination of a rivet-type punch and die structure wherein the die element is constituted of a number of relatively movable parts or components which are intended to cooperate with the rivet for the punching step and to thereafter shift so as to provide clearance during the rivet-heading step of the operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel multi-part die structure in the combination as above set forth, wherein automatic movement or separation of the die parts or components is effected prior to the actual heading of the work-piercing rivet.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved combination of a rivet-type punch and die structure, wherein an advantageous removal of the slugs from the workpieces is reliably effected prior to the heading of the rivets.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel combination of a rivet and multi-part die structure as above set forth which is constituted of relatively few parts of simple construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved rivet and multi-part die structure of the type outlined, which is sturdy and rugged in its construction, and which is reliable in operation throughout an extended period of use.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of an improved rivet-type punch and multi-part die structure which may be economically fabricated and produced.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings accompanying this specification similar characters of reference are used to designate like components throughout the several views, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view partly in vertical axial section and partly in elevation, of an improved rivet-type punch and multi-part die structure as provided by the inven tion, the positions of the components being those occupied after the workpieces have been pierced by the rivet and prior to heading of the rivet.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the work-supporting and die structure of the riveting mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the multipart die structure.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing the riveting punch as having headed the rivet.

FIG. 5 is an axial sectional view of another form of multi-part die structure, which may be used in place of the die structure shown in FIGS. 14.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the die structure shown in FIG. 5.

Considering first FIG. 1, the bed or base of the riveting machine is indicated by the numeral iii. Mounted 3,057,231 Patented Oct. 9, 1982 on the bed 10 is a force-transmitting bell crank 12, turnable about a fixed spindle 13, the upper end of one arm 15 of the bell crank being bifurcated and pivotally connected to a driving fitting 17 which is carried by the end of a connecting rod 19 arranged to apply the driving force for heading over the rivets.

The remaining arm 22 of the bell crank 12 has a slot 23 receiving a pin 24 carried by the bifurcated lower end 25 of a riveting or heading punch 26 which is vertically slidable in a bearing sleeve 28 adjustably secured to the bed 10 of the machine.

As seen in F168. 1 and 4, a usual type of hopper and feeding mechanism 3% is provided, for feeding rivets head uppermost into a pocket 32 disposed above a workpiece 34, which latter is constituted of two sheets of material 35 and 36 which are to be joined together by rivets. Vertically movable in the pocket or guide 32 is a driver tool 33 adapted to engage the head of the rivet, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The driver tool or punch 38 is adapted to be forced downward, thereby to drive before it the rivet 4i causing the latter to pierce the supported workpiece 34 comprising the sheets 35 and 36.

In accordance with the present invention, in conjunction with the driver 38 and the heading punch 26 there is provided a novel multi-part die structure 42, which is carried on the machine bed it) and arranged to engage the underside of the workpiece 34 and to support the same in the manner of a die, whereby the downwardly driven rivet 40 will pierce the workpiece in the manner of a punch. The said die structure provides a confined space into which the severed slugs from the workpiece may pass, and has movable and separable components by which lateral removal of the slugs may be simply effected and by which clearance is provided so that heading of the rivet which has pierced the workpiece may readily take place by an upwardly advancing heading punch, the workpiece being meanwhile held stationary and the separate sheets thereof being tightly secured in assembled relation to effect a secure union of the said sheets.

This improved die structure comprises a stationary material-supporting sleeve or die member 44 which is carried in the same bore as the bearing sleeve 28 and is adjustably vertically positioned by engagement with the upper edge of the said bearing sleeve. The material support member 44 at its upper extremity is provided with an enlarged portion or head 46 constituted of a pair of side plates 48 and 49, FIGS. 2 and 3, and constituted of a pair of centrally located angle-shaped portions 51 and 52, the said portions and the side plates being secured together in assembled relation by pins or rivets 54.

The angle-shaped portions 51, 52 have curved or concave surfaces 56 adapting them to function as sockets, and two cooperable die parts 58 and 59 are disposed in the sockets provided by the portions 51, 52. It will be noted that the side plates 48, also contribute in the formation of the said sockets which confine the lower portions of the die parts 58, 59. Preferably as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, pivot pins 61 pass through the die parts 58, 59 and the side plates 48, 49, thereby to pivotally mount the die parts in the head 46.

The die parts 53, 59 are in the form of upwardly eX- tending arms, and are provided with stepped grooves which together constitute a stepped bore 63, as seen in FZGS. 1 and 3, when the die parts are disposed closely adjacent and in engagement with each other. The stepped bore 63 is thus adapted to receive the shank of the rivet 40 in its upper portion of smaller diameter, and also to receive the rivet engaging portion 65 of the heading punch 26.

A return spring in the form of a U-shaped piece of wire 67 is provided, having laterally bent ends of extrernities which are engaged in recesses in the outer surfaces of the die parts 58, 59 to normally hold the said parts in engagement with each other, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

By the above construction, the die parts 53, 59 together constitute a die member providing a bore which is slightly larger than the diameter of the shank of the rivet 4t and the said parts support the workpiece 34 at the underside thereof, whe eby when the rivet it? is forced downward against the upper surface of the workpiece it will constitute a punch, and pierce the workpiece, removing two slugs which will be contained in the bore 63 formed by the die parts 53, 59. During such action, the workpiece 34 will be rigidly supported and held against movement by the die parts 52, 5'9, even when the driver punch 38 and the head of the rivet 4t) engage the upper surface of the workpiece under considerable force.

Upon the workpiece being pierced by the rivet and the latter being positioned to extend through the workpiece, as shown in FIG. 1, the heading procedure commences. Referring to FIG. 4, the heading punch '26 is now caused to rise in response to left-to-right movement of the connecting rod 19 and clockwise movement of the bell crank 12. As the tip of the punch 26 engages the tapered shoulder between the large and small-diameter portions of the bore 63, the two die parts 58, 59 will be swung apart, as shown in FIG. 4. Continued upward movement of the punch 26 will now cause the tip thereof to engage and head over the rivet it as also shown in this figure. It will be noted that the spreading movement of the die parts 58, 59 will cause the upper tips of these to travel in arcs about the pivot pins 61 as centers, and accordingly such upper tips will force upwardly the lower sheet 36 of the workpiece 34, thereby to securely hold together the two sheets 35, 36 while the rivet is being headed over. If necessary, the driver punch 38 may be spring charged by a very heavy spring, to enable it to slightly yield as the die parts 58, 59 are swung apart and as they force the workpiece 34 upward to the slight extent mentioned.

Just prior to the heading punch 26 engaging the tip of the rivet 40 and after the die parts 58, 59 have been separated, an air blast may be employed, as supplied through an air tube 68 (FIG. 2) to dislodge and eject the slugs 40a which have been struck from the workpieces 35, 36.

Another form of multi-part die structure is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. In these figures the die structure 70 is constituted of a single piece of material, said structure having a lower tubular portion 72 from which there extends upwardly a pair of flexible side arms 73, the upper extremities of the arms 73 carrying separate die elements 75 having interior conical cam surfaces 77. The die elements 75 may be formed by making a longitudinal cut or slit 7S in the die 70 when such die is fabricated from one piece of stock. For example, the die 70 may be fabricated from tubular stock, and the die elements 75 separated from each other by the provision of the longitudinal cuts 79 either prior to finishing of the remainder of the die or else as a final operation thereon. Preferably the cuts are made as a final operation.

By the provision of the two arms 73, which are resilient, the die elements 75 may be spread apart in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 4 for the die elements 58, 59.

It will now be understood from the foregoing that I have provided a novel and improved combination rivettype punch and multi-part die structure which has a number of distinct features and advantages. During the riveting of the workpieces, the rivets themselves will pierce the sheets, and the pierced slugs will be ejected and discharged prior to heading of the rivet by the riveting punch. The workpiece will not have any appreciable movement during this sequence of steps, and the multipart die structure permits the heading punch to move upward into engagement with the rivet without requiring any retracting of the work supporting means or any shifting movement of the work. Thus, reliability of operation and performance is assured. The spreading apart of the die parts permits the ejection of the slugs and also provides clearance for the heading of the rivet, and such spreading apart or separation is automatically effected in response to the initial ascending movement of the heading punch. The various parts embodied in the structure illustrated are seen to be few and of relatively simple construction. Also, the entire assemblage may be economically fabricated and produced. The components are sturdy in construction, and involve relatively little movement, as effected by the camming action of the heading punch in engaging the sloping shoulder between the small and large-diameter portions of the bore 63. Adjustment of the die and material supporting structure is readily effected by unlocking the bearing sleeve 28 and shifting the latter either upward or downward as required. As illustrated in the foregoing description the workpieces 34 and punch 38 have remained generally stationary except for the action of the punch in piercing the workpieces. However, it will be understood that the piercing operation may be accomplished by movement of the workpieces 34 and the sleeve 44 while the punch 38 does not move. The rivets may therefore be headed by movement of the workpieces, rivets and punch 38. It will be understood that the relative movement of the related parts to accomplish the operations may be effected by certain parts remaining stationary and other parts moving or vice versa.

It will be understood that while the invention herein has been described in relation to a specific multi-part die structure, other die structures of multi-parts may be advantageously utilized.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims, and portions of the improvement may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In a riveting machine of the type wherein the rivets are forced through the work to pierce the same and sever slugs from the work in the manner of .a punch, in combination, a combined work-supporting means and die structure comprising a hollow member, said hollow member having a head, a rivet-heading punch disposed within said hollow member, a plurality of die parts movably mounted on the hollow member and having cooperable portions defining a die opening commensurate with the diameter of the rivet and adapted to engage the work and support the same as a rivet is advanced through the work to piece the latter and blank a slug therefrom, said die parts comprising pivotally movable arms, and said head including a pair of oppositely disposed socket forming portions integral with said member, and a pair of side plates secured to opposite sides of the socket forming portions, said side plates and socket forming portions being arranged to define sockets to accommodate the ends of said arms, and said rivet-heading punch being relatively advanceable through the said cooperable portions of the die parts to engage and head a rivet projecting through the work.

2. In a riveting machine of the type wherein the rivets are forced through complementary workpieces to pierce the same and sever slugs from the workpieces in the manner of a punch, in combination, a combined workpiece supporting means and die structure comprising a hollow member having head portion defining a socket, a die having angularly movable parts bottomed in said socket, the movable parts of said die defining a die opening commensurate with the diameter of the rivet and adapted to engage and support the workpieces as the rivet is advanced through the workpieces to blank a slug therefrom, and a rivet heading punch disposed within said hollow member so as to be advanceable through said hollow member and the movable parts of said die bottomed in said socket, said heading punch and movable die parts having cooperating cam means for automatically spreading said movable die parts apart with an angular rotational movement to permit the advancement of said heading punch therethrough whereby the angular movement of the movable and fixedly bottomed die parts effects movement of said movable die parts toward the workpieces to securely hold the workpieces together as the rivet is being headed by said rivet heading punch.

3. In a riveting machine of the type wherein the rivets are forced through a pair of complementary workpieces to pierce the same and sever slugs therefrom in the manner of a punch, in combination, a combined workpiece supporting means and die structure comprising a hollow member having head portion having a socket, a die having angularly movable parts fixedly bottomed in said socket, pivot pins hingedly connecting said movable die parts in said socket, the movable parts of said die defining a die opening commensurate with the diameter of the rivet and adapted to engage and support the workpieces as the rivet is advanced through the workpieces to pierce the same and blank a slug therefrom, and a rivet heading punch disposed within said hollow member so as to be advanceable through said hollow member and movable parts of said die bottomed in said socket, said heading punch and movable die parts having cooperating cam means for automatically spreading said movable die parts apart with an angular rotational movement about said pivot pins to permit the advancement of said heading punch therethrough whereby the angular movement about said pivot pins of the movable parts of said bottomed die cause, said movable parts to move toward the workpieces to securely hold the same together as the rivet is being headed by said rivet heading punch, and means for blowing said slugs from the die parts as the heading punch is advanced.

4. The invention as defined in claim 2, in which there is a stationary machine bed, and in which the said hollow member is fixedly mounted on the machine bed and held against movement with respect thereto.

5. The invention as defined in claim 2, in which there are means for adjustably mounting the hollow member on the machine bed, whereby the position of the hollow member may be adjustably changed.

6. The invention as defined in claim 2, in which there are means for pivotally mounting the die parts on the hollow member for pivotal movement toward and away from each other.

7. The invention as defined in claim 2, in which the cooperable cam means comprises sloping shoulders pro vided on the die parts, engageable with the said punch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,152,971 Reis Sept. 7, 1915 1,156,013 Larsen Oct. 15, 1915 1,360,065 Weiner Nov. 23, 1920 2,215,388 Butter Sept. 17, 1940 2,310,008 Wolff Feb. 2, 1943 

